Gone Away ~ The journal of Clive Allen in America

Watching Formula 1
04/06/2007
Formula One is an acquired taste. It takes a while to learn its complexities and a lifetime to understand how things developed to become the beast we know today. As a result, F1-watchers divide into two main camps with several subdivisions within those groupings. Understanding this, too, is a part of the enjoyment of the sport.

Eau Rouge at Spa, Belgium

We can define one main group as the enthusiasts (some might even say the afficianados); these are the ones who have been watching for years, done their homework, studied their history, and can now pontificate at great length on the most obscure details of the sport. Some specialize in statistics and can tell you who placed where in what race and in what version of that year's car. Others get secret enjoyment from scrutinizing the politics of the game and are ever ready to criticize the latest decisions of the FIA (yeah, I know I'm guilty of this one). Still others know the intricate technical details of how the cars work and find their entertainment in working out just why team A has stuck some weird protrusion on the car this season.

But all in this group love F1 with a passion, regard it as the highest form of endeavor to be meddled with at your peril. They are the true grassroots that ensure F1's survival.

The rise of television has expanded the other main group until it outnumbers the enthusiasts. These are the casual viewers who may have chanced upon a telecast of a race that entertained and so they come back for more - we could call them the fans. They are not about to build their entire calendar around the races but they will watch if they get the chance. Some will become interested enough that they start to learn and begin to recognize drivers and cars from lower down the order; ultimately, they may be transformed into enthusiasts. But most are there for the sheer spectacle and to cheer on any countryman of theirs - as demonstrated by the fall in Germany's viewing figures now that Michael Schumacher has retired.

Television has been a double-edged sword for the sport. It has increased its popularity beyond recognition but also dictated changes that have weakened F1 as a sport, turning it into something that resembles a business more than anything else. The need to keep the casual viewer and to continue to expand the audience has resulted in time-honored races disappearing and others appearing in some pretty unlikely places, rule changes intended only to affect the viewing experience have substituted for conventions that are as old as GP racing itself, and there are suspicions that the governing body meddles sometimes to keep the fight for a championship alive.

It is quite clear that the FIA see a growing TV audience as necessary for F1 to survive in future. Increasingly, the enthusiasts' views are disregarded in favor of anything that will "increase the spectacle". The irony is that the more the sport is warped by rule changes, the less spectacular it becomes, until we have a situation where both groups of F1-watchers are crying out for more overtaking in races. Everyone knows what is needed to make passing easier but it seems that no-one is prepared to do it.

The lesson ought to be clear but is rarely mentioned: you cannot design a sport for television and expect it to be watchable - the sport must go its own way and television allowed to find a way to make it watchable. When television first arrived in force back in the late seventies, F1 was going its own merry way, with rule changes so rare that there were years between each one. And the spectacle was such that a TV audience grew at a phenomenal rate, soon to outnumber those who actually attended races.

With the arrival of Bernie Ecclestone as an appointee of the FIA, the money-making potential of this new audience was realized; suddenly the sale of television rights became big business and the imperative to keep increasing the earning power of the sport became all that mattered. We see the results today with F1 so constricted by its own rules that a proposal to standardize the cars can be made seriously by its president.

It is not the way to go. Unless F1 returns to its roots by concentrating upon what is good for the sport rather than how to maximize profits, it will be changed so utterly that both fans and enthusiasts will desert in thousands. It is happening already with declining viewing figures and complaints at the dreary predictability of the races. The money men will destroy the goose that laid the golden egg.

My fear is that they don't care. And why should they as long as they can fill their pockets at the expense of a sport that is now seen as a business? Tomorrow they can retire as rich men with never a thought for the shambles they leave behind them. Somehow the fans and the enthusiasts need to unite to wrest control of F1 from the grasp of the greedy and place it back with those who just want to go racing.

Yeah, I know - fat chance.

Clive

Dan M
I believe you left out one important group, one that I think I belong, the pure racing fan. You may have converstated <==(may not be a word) with them before. These are the very intelligent fans who show no allegiance to anyone league but rather to racing itself. They have watched F1 years, and its been a great sport, but your on the verge of losing them.
Its time another league took over the reign, something that stays true to its roots. With the exception of safety, every rule change goes against what F1 is, all for money. I'm not saying CHAMP should be considered, there isn't enough talent, but there must be something!
In a way I don't understand how you stay with a sport which has done wrong by you time and time again, you go to walk away and then the sport tells you "I can change, we can make things like they used to be ". You listen like an idiot, letting your emotions get the best of you.
Consider me your fat friend that was always jealous that you had something special and they wanted nothing to do with me (Me=America They=F1), but ultimately is looking out for your well being.... "YOU CAN DO BETTER".
Don't get me wrong, I love the sport, maybe this is a case of the grass being greener on the other side......but we have a rule to fix that in 2011 ;) Date Added: 04/06/2007

Gone Away
That's a very good point, Dan - F1 is in danger of losing out to other motor sport of one form or another. I've seen MotoGP mentioned in that context and the World Rally Championship, as well Champ Cars. It shows how desperate things are for people to think of such things - there was a time when F1 was without a challenger.
I hang on because the drivers are still so good and, for a little while yet, F1 is the only place you'll hear engines revving to 19,000 rpm, let alone 20,000. These are the things that make F1 unique and Max, in his wisdom, wants to get rid of them. If he succeeds, I'll be watching Champ Cars and the IRL... Date Added: 04/06/2007

Alianora La Canta
I would put myself in the regulation-specialising subsection of the enthusiast (with elements of the statistical subsection) - but the stupidities of F1 are not helping my enthusiasm any. Apart from giving me lots of material for my blog (FIA-bashing is fun, especially when you know that finances prevent me from discovering any downsides to my recommendations for improvement), it has made me decide recently to start following MotoGP properly, and I suspect that if the dumb 2011 plan is still in operation in four years time, my main focus of attention will be on two wheels.
The drivers may be (mostly) the best there are, the cars may be the most technically advanced - but the feeling remains that this is mostly down to inertia rather than any active attempt by anyone to preserve the quality.
The biggest irony of the casual-viewer focus is that, as far as I can tell, none of the recent initiatives have done [em]anything[/em] to help casual viewers into the sport. Few of my friends would even consider watching an F1 race (though several more watch MotoGP on a regular "casual" basis). Several of my friends think Michael Schumacher is currently leading the championship (which is only true if the contest is for "highest-profile team advisor"), and one quite seriously asked me two years ago which F1 team Damon Hill was driving for. The last time I was able to have a discussion about the racing part of an F1 race outside the Net and my family was the day after Brazil 2003. That gives you some clue as to how long ago most of my friends were alienated from F1.
The clue in all that is the "racing". I have had at least two significant discussions about F1 with friends outside the Net since then (a whole-class discussion on Indy 2005, and two chats with a friend on Singapore's GP). However, neither of these attracted anybody to F1 - and that is because they're not interested in that sort of politicking. Yet most of the stories that emerge from F1 these days are of that nature. It's been that way for so long that the racing stories are ignored as an exception that will soon be disproved (I don't think any of my off-Net friends know or care who Lewis Hamilton is, including the one who I discussed Singapore's GP with).
In other words, if F1 is to claim its casual audience, it needs to do the following:
1) the rule-makers must step away from regulating - all rule changes bring unwanted political elements
2) the powers-that-be must stop arguing (and preferably take a vow of silence). When was the last time you heard anyone from Dorna (MotoGP's owners) weigh into any discussions relating to MotoGP race weekends, let alone say anything controversial about it?
3) teams must stop arguing (and preferably take a vow of silence, except to talk about their own races in an objective way). Between this and the other two points above, the political element won't reach the press very much (drivers are excused, since press coverage of them doesn't seem to impact very much on non-enthusiasts' impression of F1 - and don't ask me why that is).
4) Teams and drivers need to go out to the potential casual supporters where they are and do interesting stuff. That means street demos in places that already have an F1 presence, shopping precinct and bookstore visits, and generally doing things that allow casual fans to see them in person. It used to be that race tickets were cheap enough for people to casually watch races, but that's no longer the case. Now, they must either be enthusiasts or have a very good reason to be committed (e.g. a driver doing very well).
Hope this helps, though since Max doesn't appear to care what anyone else thinks, which is always a bad sign... Date Added: 04/06/2007

Gone Away
You state the problem with devastating accuracy, Alianora. We cannot expect everyone to be interested in F1 but, when even the most casual of viewers can tell you what's wrong with it, the governing body should be taking notice. They have had their chance to improve the sport and have merely made things worse. I can remember a time when all Britain knew who James Hunt was, made unsavoury jokes about Niki Lauda and could tell you what brand of cigarettes sponsored Lotus; today nothing but political scandal breaks rises above their horizon. That surely is a sign that the sport is gradually sinking without trace.
Your prescription would go some way to curing the disease. To it I would add certain basic rules regarding the cars (and get rid of a lot more) to make sure that aerodynamics can no longer prevent overtaking. Then let them race and not bother about TV viewing figures. If the sport is exciting enough, the viewers will come! Date Added: 04/06/2007

Dan M
I too have become a recent fan of MotoGP, never a big fan of the rice burners, but the racing is amazing to watch. I couldn't take my eyes off..... Rossi is amazing. I just don't understand why he hasn't made the jump to someone a little easier on the nerves....F1.
The only reason I am still watching F1 is because our horrible TV coverages, or lack there of, of any other motor sport other than NASCAR. I believe Clive can account to that. The coverage from the Speed channel offers little insight into the sport and makes it extremely difficult to understand for anyone new to the sport. I can catch 10 hours of pregame football coverage that breaks down every little detail until I want Brett Farve to throw a football at my temple. The only info I can get on F1 outside of the net is on the two hours of coverage shown for the race by commentators that sound like that just escaped a mental institution. (IE) In the rare occasion there is a pass (for example when Hiedfeld made that daring pass on Alonzo ) one of the commentators sounded like he was dying (grunting and grooning) and the two others were talking over each other. It was awful....
Unlike previous years, I cannot find WRC. The A1GP is always on at 3PM and ends at 6PM when everyone is just getting home, followed by 9 hours of coverage of Nascar's caution flag fest....
So if you think you have it bad in Europe.....
Date Added: 05/06/2007

Dan M
I too have become a recent fan of MotoGP, never a big fan of the rice burners, but the racing is amazing to watch. I couldn't take my eyes off..... Rossi is amazing. I just don't understand why he hasn't made the jump to someone a little easier on the nerves....F1.
The only reason I am still watching F1 is because our horrible TV coverages, or lack there of, of any other motor sport other than NASCAR. I believe Clive can account to that. The coverage from the Speed channel offers little insight into the sport and makes it extremely difficult to understand for anyone new to the sport. I can catch 10 hours of pregame football coverage that breaks down every little detail until I want Brett Farve to throw a football at my temple. The only info I can get on F1 outside of the net is on the two hours of coverage shown for the race by commentators that sound like that just escaped a mental institution. (IE) In the rare occasion there is a pass (for example when Hiedfeld made that daring pass on Alonzo ) one of the commentators sounded like he was dying (grunting and grooning) and the two others were talking over each other. It was awful....
Unlike previous years, I cannot find WRC. The A1GP is always on at 3PM and ends at 6PM when everyone is just getting home, followed by 9 hours of coverage of Nascar's caution flag fest....
So if you think you have it bad in Europe.....
Date Added: 05/06/2007

Alianora La Canta
Thank you, Dan M, for raising my opinion of ITV's commentary a bit - I did not realise that Speed's coverage of F1 was that awful. And my friends on other forums tell me the other USA networks that sometimes broadcast F1 are not exactly an improvement... ...no wonder F1 isn't becoming more popular in the United States! Date Added: 05/06/2007

Gone Away
I have just been grateful that I can watch the GPs in the States - what will I do if they ever decide to drop F1? So I usually keep quiet about the quality. It's not that much worse than ITV's, after all, and we don't have to suffer the idiocies of James Allen (no relation!). Yes, Peter Windsor's grid walk is embarrassing and the commentators don't really help with much information but at least I can see for myself what is happening on the track.
SpeedTV also have an excellent website that deals with F1 and occasionally run very good articles on the more complicated aspects of the sport. Considering how difficult it has been for the sport to gain a foothold in the States at all, I don't think they do a bad job. It could be worse!
There are signs, too, that F1 is making inroads here. After the 2005 Indy fiasco, I watched a SpeedTV program about the events and they had a phone-in so that the fans could have their say. I was impressed both with the depth of knowledge of those who phoned in and with the fact that they all wanted the USGP to continue - that was their main concern, that the GP be cancelled in later years. That speaks to me of people who have been well and truly hooked! Date Added: 05/06/2007

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